With edible landscaping, the goal is to harvest your own fresh produce. Here are some books that can help those planning edible landscaping projects.

“Organic Gardening-The Natural No-Dig Way” is by Charles Dowding. Published by Green Books, this is available from Chelsea Green. This presents a simple and easy way to grow organic vegetables, fruits, and other edibles in raised beds. The book is based on the author’s personal experience as an organic grower in Britain during the past 25 years.

Illustrated with lush color photos, this is an excellent introduction to organic gardening. The author deftly avoids the hype one often associates with organic gardening. Readers can learn what to grow, when to plant, and how to care for the garden. There’s also a chapter on moon gardening.

Much of the book is devoted to the individual crops. There are separate chapters for each group or type. This has in-depth growing instructions for each kind with charts listing the varieties, sowing times, and spacing. This explains how to grow fruits and nuts in containers. All measurements use the metric system. This also has recipe ideas as well.

“75 Remarkable Fruits for Your Garden” by Jack Staub has lovely watercolors by Ellen Buchert. Released by Gibbs Smith, this hardcover is the second in a series by the author.

While some of the fruits are tender species like figs or oranges, others are suitable for cold climates. Every type of fruit is represented from traditional tree fruits and vines to strawberries. In addition, this also covers ornamental landscape plants with edible fruits. The Cornelian cherry, a type of dogwood, is an example.

Written in an engaging style, the in-depth fruit profiles provide the Latin and common name, descriptions, tips on growing, and recipe ideas. Readers can also learn about the rich folklore and history of each plant.

Edible landscapes often focus on annual crops, such as vegetables. Permaculture uses a different approach. This involves growing various edibles as permanent plantings. These include trees, shrubs, and perennials. Frugal gardeners are going to love “Getting Started in Permaculture” by Ross and Jenny Mars. Published by Chelsea Green, this enlightening guide features over 50 do-it-yourself projects using common recycled materials.

For each project, this has simple and easy to follow illustrated instructions. This is especially suitable for back to earth types. It covers all sorts of organic gardening projects, such as making your own plant teas, composts, and earthworm farms.

Gardeners will love these affordable garden projects. These include cold frames, hot houses, shade houses, retaining walls, and flower pots. The authors explain how to attract birds and use organic means of pest control. Some of the recycled materials include plastics, newspapers, tires, and card board. Readers can also learn how to make their own soaps, paper, and household cleaning pro